The Half Drow Chronicles
by Amish Gangsta
Summary: The story of an elven girl and her battles for acceptance and survival.
1. Prelude

Prelude

Smoke. The moon elf's conscience flooded back to him but all he could see was smoke. Then the smell of burning flesh hit him harder than the hilt of the orcan blade that had stolen his consciousness in the first place. The foul odor slipped down his nostrils and found its way to his stomach, causing him to lurch over and gag. He fought back his nausea and stood uneasily. Regaining some measure of his elven composure and grace he set his eyes about to take full account of his current predicament. He was still in his own home, he knew that much at least, but before the orcs attack he distinctly remembered two other figures... his wife and daughter! He grabbed his dual longswords from the ground where he had previously lay prone and rushed to and out the door.

As he exited his home he looked up to the sky. Through the pillars of smoke that filled it he caught a glimpse of a slender man in a brilliant orange robe and with the blackest of black hair, which hung several inches below his feet, riding atop large demon. His glare swept over the elven settlement and he turned angrily on his unholy mount and sped off to the south. The images wholly left Kairel's mind in the next instant, though, as his eyes took in the scene unfolding before him. A primal scream erupted from the depths of his lungs as tears brimmed in his eyes. Keadrea, his love, lay upon the ground battered and bloody, surrounded by orcs. The biggest of the group began to raise a rather large axe. With more speed than he knew he possessed, the elf rushed forward, gaining the hundred yards that separated him from the orcs in the blink of an orcs eye. A smile found Keadrea's ebon lips as a long sword tip burst through the axe wielding orcs chest. The other five orcs turned to their leader when the blow did not fall but the only response they got from him was a bloody gurgle as the sword slipped out of his back.

As the orcs corpse slid to the ground all that remained to answer his companions was an enraged elven warrior, enraged that his home had been invaded, enraged that the smell of smoldering elf was in the air of _his_ wood and most of all enraged that his wife lay on the ground surrounded by the foulest of beings, blood readily dripping from several grievous wounds. Enraged beyond the point of mercy, Kairel Lightshadow stalked in. An orc turned to meet his steady advance only to meet a sword tip through his throat. As the doomed creature went down to his knees, clutching the wound, the deft slice of an elven blade detached the whole of its head, as well as several fingers of both hands, from the rest of his body. Two more rushed at Kairel, only to be doubly disemboweled and similarly decapitated.

Keadrea rose weakly to her feet behind the remaining orcs, whom where very distracted at that moment, having just witnessed four of their kin being slaughtered. One of them lurched as her trident tore through his back and into his heart. He fell as the others had and Keadrea's smile doubled. The last orc fled for his life, only to be shot several times by a volley of arrows from a contingent of elven archers as they rounded the corner to the section of the village where Kairel and Keadrea lived. As the elves approached Kairel, Keadrea swooned at fell to the ground, nearly. Kairel was with her and had her in his arms in an instant. On his knees, cradling her in his arms, he watched the last moments of his love's life. Her smile remained and she looked up into his eyes.

"My dear Kairel, do not let our daughter fall under the prejudices that her, that my, skin color will afford her...train her as we had intended, that she may defeat the hatred that I will now escape in death, of most import though, let her know how much I loved her, and never forget how much I loved you..."

As the light faded from her eyes, tears fell from Kairel's, creating streams through the sweat and smoke already covering his face. He turned to the guardsmen to his right.

"Where are the children?" he asked urgently.

"They are in the magical tree cubby, as they would be under any attack." the guard replied.

"And my daughter?" Kairel dared ask...had his entire family perished?

"With the rest, sir." he replied reassuringly.

Kairel's body relaxed at the news and he looked down at his beloved Keadrea one last time before he began to rise.

"We have reason to believe that the wizard you and several others saw was heavily involved in the invasion sir," the Lieutenant Guardsman reported, "they where cloaked with invisibility and silence far beyond any orc shamans ability."

Kairel slammed his fist into the table he was leaning over.

"Find out as much about this wizard as you can... on Keadrea's grave, he will die by my hands."


	2. Ch 1: Out and Followed

Chapter 1: Out and Followed

Kairel stood looking out his window at his daughter, her dusky skin and blue and gold eyes shining in the days first rays of sunlight. Twelve years had passed since that horrible, fateful day and for twelve years, his daughter had stood unerringly in the spot of her mothers death and watched the sunrise. Today was no different, in that aspect, but today, as the sun rose over their small village, his Adrael was seventeen. The time had come, Kairel realized, for her to choose her life's path. Kairel thought back to the last few years, to days of combat training they had enjoyed together.

Adrael had tried many weapons before she found a combination that suited her, a long sword, as her father used, and a long-hilted parrying dagger. Under her fathers careful guidance she had become quite the fighter with them.

Around her waist, though, was what she truly had come to master. Throwing daggers. When she had mentioned wanting to use them instead of the more traditional elven bow and arrow, Kairel had gone to great lengths to acquire a bandoleer fitting her potential. Any daggers placed within the loops of the particular bandoleer that he had procured would magically duplicate to fill every loop of it and would dissipate soon after being outside of them. She kept one of each of her parent's knives in the back loops, her father's moon elf crafted blades multiplying to occupy the left side of the bandoleer and her mother's drow crafted blades similarly taking up the right side, making a veritable Yin-Yang of her heritage. Her skill with these was considerable and a smile found Kairel's face as he thought of how much better she could become with the rest of her life ahead of her.

As the sun bloomed into its full glory and took its place in the horizon, Adrael turned back towards her home. She had noticeably been crying, but now, walking back to that oh so familiar place, a smile caressed her face. Kairel watched her intently as she entered the house. He knew she had made up her mind about what she wanted to do with her life, and that was a piece of information that Kairel wished dearly to know.

"Father?" her voice came, tentative yet strong.

Kairel nodded, prompting her to continue.

She shook back her thick shock of silvery white hair, and took a deep breath to steady herself before continuing.

"I have decided to continue my training under you, and I wish to go with you on your journey to find the wizard who is responsible for mothers death, I wish to be a fighter, that I may rid Faerun of some of its murderous creatures, in hopes that it may be a better place for my children, and their children after them." she sighed as she finished, content to have all of her intentions off her chest and out for her fathers judgment.

Kairel nodded again, though she had chosen a dangerous life, what life wasn't dangerous with the orc and giantkin seemingly roaming everywhere? At least she would be properly equipped and prepared to protect herself, unlike many of the peasants who fell to orc raids everyday. No, Kairel was indeed happy with his daughters' choice, and had secretly wished her to choose thusly, but he wasn't going to force it upon her. His face showing his elation he closed the distance between them and wrapped her in the most sincere embrace he had given since... he let the thought go. The information his scouts had gathered stated that the wizard originated from a mages academy in Waterdeep. They had a journey to pack for.

The wolven humanoid, a variant of a celestial being known as a Hound Archon, sniffed the air. He could see the two elves heading out of the small elven settlement on the southwestern edge of the Neverwinter Wood.

Beckoned by the nature goddess Mielikki to be her champion, his latest mission had him watching over these two. She had foreseen these two going on a quest that would eventually lead them to battle against one of the greatest evils Faerun had ever known and she wanted him to aid them in this quest (and most likely in the battle too). Looking to the unicorn signet about his neck, the symbol of Mielikki, he thought back to past missions she had sent him on, most particularly the one to retrieve the Unicorn blade, Equinox, which only a true champion of Mielikki could wield. Blade made of Unicorn horn, the strongest and purest of which served as the swords grip and with untaintable Unicorn hair serving as a hilt, it was indeed a magnificent sword. Six and a half feet long compared to his eight-foot frame, it had aided him much as Mielikki's servant.

Memories of his past inevitably led to his upbringing. After Mielikki came to him on his home plane of Celestia and asked him for his service to her, he was born into the world to a wolf, gaining wolf-like features compared to his normally dog based kin and so that he would be a true native of the plane he would now protect from evil. Shortly after his birth a powerful druid follower of Mielikki took him in. He would never age but he did mature under the guidance of the druid for two decades until he was fully grown and strong enough to truly champion Mielikki's cause. Two days before he was to leave and seek out Equinox, the druid, Drinuin, died and Mielikki's champion left determined that the mans training of and faith in him would not be in vain.

Shortly after obtaining Equinox he came into the friendship of a bronze dragon whom he would come to know as a worthy fighting companion, a mount and most importantly of all, a friend. That was something Lupin Mooncaller had rarely found in his six decades on Faerun. Perhaps these elves would change all that. Perhaps.

Kairel and Adrael picked their way through the hilly terrain that lay between Neverwinter Wood and Waterdeep, a place known for housing many wizards and as good a place as any, as far as the elves could discern, to start their quest.

They realized soon after departing the wood that they where being shadowed, but made no outward signs to show that they had noticed. They had hoped their march to Waterdeep would be uneventful, but they held no illusions that the ever-present possibility of battle would not find them. Adraels curiosity raised even more when her skin began to tingle, a sign to a drow that an outsider was about. The drow, who spent much time around otherworldly beings, had grown sensitive to them to the point of sensing their mere presence. And Adrael after all, was half-drow.

She tried to get those thoughts out of her head by thinking of more pressing events. Would any in the wizards' school even know of the one responsible for the raid? Might the wizard actually be present? Or wizards? Was it all part of a bigger conspiracy? Adraels head whirled and she found she preferred thoughts of battle and outsiders by far. The elves continued along their trail stoically and hoped that their pursuers did not get to them before they got to Waterdeep.

Three days slipped by, thankfully uneventful, and the elves continued to wonder at their pursuer's intentions. They camped every night after the sun dipped out of view and began again before it came back up, but whom ever or whatever was following them was no more than an hour behind them. A move should have been made by now.

The following night the campfire behind them was even closer. Adrael lay down and closed her eyes, secure that if the creature made a move her father would have them up and running before he was too close. Kairel moved back down their path a little and could make out a lone figure. This fact would have been much more comforting if the figure hadn't been over seven feet tall, maybe closer to eight, with a blade nearly as big. Kairel blinked his elven eyes and prayed to never know battle against that one.

"We must go know." he bade his daughter from her reverie. She roused immediately and followed his gaze back to the campfire, and more particularly to the massive form near it. Adrael grabbed her pack from beside her and rose. She looked to her father to turn around and lead them. Kairels gaze lingered for a moment longer as he considered the hulking form that had been trailing them the past few days. Then he turned to his daughter and walked past her, and she fell in line behind him.

Two days later Waterdeep came into view. The elves relief showed clearly on their faces as they approached the enormous gates of the famed town. Up on the parapet several guards had crossbows trained on them (more so Adrael than Kairel).The sight of a drow unnerved most people on the surface on Faerun (and many below the surface as well, them being even more familiar with the drow).

"State your business, quickly, or be cut down." one guard said, mainly to Adrael.

Kairel turned to his daughter, accepting the flames that flickered to life in her eyes and knowing her to be wise enough not to unleash them on the book-cover reading guard. He smiled as her face calmed under his understanding visage and he turned back to the gate and the guards atop it.

"Good sirs," Kairel began, "We have come to your grand city to find out what we may from the wizards who reside within her marvelous walls."

The guard thought on the words for a moment, then nodded to Kairel. He held no love for the men and women in the wizards tower, who where often arrogant and belittled many of his fellow guardsmen, including himself. He would take any chance to bother or busy them readily. But he would not so readily allow a drow elf to wander the streets of his city.

"You may enter," Kairel's smile multiplied tenfold but then dissipated as the guard continued, "But your dark elf companion may not."

Before the guard could elaborate Kairel cut in on his daughters behalf.

"I can assure you that this is no dark elf in the sense that you all are familiar with, she is my daughter and has been raised among my surface elf kin. Her mother was a drow, but shared in our mentality and she was slain in an orc raid upon our village in the Neverwinter Wood, the thing we have come to learn about from your wizards..." Kairel trailed off, awaiting the guard's response.

Again the guard mulled over Kairel's words, he had heard of the attack the elf spoke of, most in the region had. Finally he replied.

"I am truly sorry, but ethics or no, the sight of a drow, even a half-drow, will cause panic in Waterdeep..." the guard paused, considering his own words, "I will let you both in, elf, so long as she keeps her cowl low and her hands covered on the streets, tend to your business and be gone as soon as possible, if I don't receive word of your departure within the day, I will find and forcibly remove you from her walls." the words rang hollow to Kairel and he suspected that it was more of a show for his men than any real threat. Kairel's smile returned at that thought.

Adrael had sat through it all with no emotions showing clearly on her face, but she couldn't hold back her smile as the gates opened wide before her and her father. Her cowl, though, did hide it as she entered the bustling town. One step at a time she supposed.

Lupin watched the two, both of them he noted, enter the town and was impressed indeed. He had not expected the guards to let the drow in, but there she went, cowl pulled low, entering Waterdeep, the city of splendors. He enacted his innate archon teleportation ability and appeared an instant later in an alley in the middle of the city. He enacted another innate ability, the ability to transform into any natural canine form, and soon exited the alley no longer an eight-foot, very noticeable humanoid, and quickly picked up on the elves trail. Dealing with guards had never been one of Lupin Mooncaller's strong points.


	3. Ch 2: Waterdeep

Chapter 2: Waterdeep

Adrael's eyes were wide under her cowl as she and her father walked the long streets throughout the town, past the large houses and many nervous glances from the people of Waterdeep.

Before now Adrael had never been out of Neverwinter Wood. In seventeen years of being all she had known was her simple forest home. Even the hilly trails and open plains she and her father had had to cross through to get here had seemed alien to her. This town however was wholly different from the small wooden buildings and dirt paths she had been used to. Massive stone structures where everywhere, paved sidewalks defined the avenues and the population had to be at least one thousand times the number her village boasted, and the village was considered to be one of the larger elven settlements of the area. In that moment Adrael felt small and naive to the world indeed!

She quickly dismissed the notion as she looked to her father, only to see a knowing smile on his face. He had had an experience of awe and smallness similar to the one she was having now, nearly a century before, on his first foray out of his own forest home. He turned so as to fully face her and put his hands on her shoulders, making sure that her blue and gold orbs were looking right into his own green pools.

"Do not fret my child, for in an elven time frame you are still considered to be a babe, you have several centuries of life ahead of you to see and learn of the world, of cities even larger and much more splendorous than this one..." Adrael nodded at her father's logic, her smile returning as she realized the truth to his words. She nodded a final time and the elves returned to their stroll down the main street of Waterdeep, onward towards the Tower of Arcane learnings, where maybe they could learn a more direct course of action than their current one.

Lupin trailed the elves on their walk through Waterdeep, though his hulking form was no more. On the streets of a town such as Waterdeep an eight foot tall wolf-man was nearly as panic causing as a drow elf. A small gray puppy, however, was quite inconspicuous... except where children were involved, Lupin thought as he pulled away from a group of youngsters and continued following the father-daughter duo towards the wizard school.

Adrael had noticed the pup following them for some time, but didn't really think anything of it, except that she could sense the outsider again. Any thoughts of the dog flew from her mind a moment later though, as they approached the Tower of Arcane Learning's. Several spiraling towers coming out of the central tower at awkward angles showed the places obvious magical touch, and Adrael's awe was very much still intact as her father went up and rapped on the door. A rectangular section of the door slid out, revealing a pair of weathered, and very intense, eyes, which looked from Kairel to Adrael several times.

"Yes?" came the curt voice of an older man. Kairel smiled to his daughter to reassure her before answering the man.

"We have come seeking council from the wizards of your magnificent tower, to see what they might know of a wizard we are searching for."

The man's eyes looked slowly from one to the other and suddenly widened in recognition.

"Oh my, you are the elves from Neverwinter, the guards said you had entered the town..." he trailed off for a second and a click sounded from inside the tower and a second later the door swung wide before them.

"I am Antelo, the caretaker for the Waterdeep Academy of the Arcane, our headmistress desires an audience with the two of you." he said with a grin.

"I had no idea of our reputation." Kairel said, sincerely surprised.

"Many in the region heard of the tragedy that befell your village, and all are saddened by the near slaughter of your kin." Antelo explained, his grin fading.

Kairel nodded to the man, touched by his honest sympathy.

"But let us attend the business at hand," Antelo, continued, "If you would kindly follow me, the headmistress awaits."

They followed Antelo through the towers many levels. The headmistress's office and quarters where at the very highest levels of the tower. Many minutes passed, as did many disorienting turns, long corridors and even longer stairways, before finally they came to a large iron bound door made of a bright wood (which made it stand out in the dark halls and made Adrael wonder why such precautions would be taken for the path with such a remarkable portal). Six gems were set into the wood at Antelo's shoulder level. There were two rubies, two sapphires and two emeralds and as the elves contemplated the seemingly random gems, Antelo turned to them with a smile.

" I would appreciate it greatly if you would turn around while I unlock the door to Headmistress DeAdra's chambers." a slight hint of "not asking, telling" in his voice.

Their questions answered, they nodded to the man and complied. Antelo turned back to the door and moved the stones from the straight line pattern they where in and placed them in a circular pattern. As he fixed the last stone in place they sank into the wood as if it were liquid and a multicolored gemstone doorknob appeared on the door. He bade the elves to follow him again as he opened the door.

A robed, middle-aged woman sat behind a large wooden desk across from them as they entered. Her hands where together on the desk and she studied the elves, and more particularly Adrael. A long silence ensued as they sized each other up. Kairel glanced to Antelo, standing beside him, but all he offered was a shrug. After a few stiflingly awkward moments the headmistress began, though she never took her eyes from Adrael's.

"Greetings Kairel and Adrael Lightshadow, I am Morgan DeAdra, Headmistress of the Waterdeep Academy of the Arcane, I understand that you seek a wizard whom you believe led an attack on your village in the Neverwinter wood, yes?"

Adrael nodded and began to speak but her father cut her short.

"A slender man was seen by me and several others; he wore a vividly orange robe and had unusually long black hair. He flew from the battle atop a large black demon, perhaps a horned devil, though he did turn to cast a final glaring look down on us.

Morgan nodded as she took in Kairel's words and she turned them over and over in her head. Only one person in her mind fit such a description.

"Velvadine." she stated, more to herself than to the others.

"Pardon?" came a response from Adrael, not understanding the mages train of thought or the name's significance.

Morgan came out of her thoughts at the question, realizing the elves wouldn't know anything about Velvadine.

"Several years ago," she began, "I took an apprentice, a boy with a great understanding of and a natural affinity for magic. Within weeks he had attained skills in the arts that took most others years to reach, another few months and his powers were beyond all but the most powerful wizards at the school. After only two years under me he had learned every spell book, scroll and tome of magic we had in our libraries, as well as personal books of headmasters, by memory. Not only that be he somehow came upon the ability to cast spells with the utterance of but a single rune. His power grew beyond anything I have ever imagined and he rightfully grew arrogant. The most complicated and difficult of summons were nothing to him, and as such powerful demon lords and ageless specters bent to his will, as did we. He had no need to rest to regain magical energies, no need to memorize spells for the day, because he had them all memorized at all times. No need for components and a seemingly limitless use of spells that the most learned and powerful wizards I know can only cast once or twice a day. Through contacts with demons and thieves and other sources he acquired many spell books, which due to their evil nature are banned from our academy, and this consequently led to his expulsion. He left the school cackling, his raven black hair, a symbol of his growth and power I believe, for it was clean shaven when he arrived here, past his knees, that was seven years ago..." she trailed off, allowing the elves to digest the information.

At that moment Adrael realized that what befell their little village would pale in comparison to what could come to pass if such a wizard was aloud to amass an army and grow in his own powers.

"He must be stopped, not only for my mother and the other lives he ended that day, but to prevent the future catastrophe that is immanent if he continues this course without resistance."

Kairel, Antelo and Morgan all nodded in agreement, drawing the same conclusions themselves. If the tribe he had brought against the elves was even within a fraction of his ability to control, they shuddered to think of how many other tribes of goblinoids might join his army, and what other beings might cow under his substantial power.

Morgan brought them all out of their private contemplations with an even more disturbing thought.

"Velvadine also has another considerable ability, the eyes of the oracle. He can see the future, which leads me to believe that he struck your village purposefully, perhaps in the hopes to slay someone he found to be instrumental in his downfall, but this is just a theory."

Adrael dropped her hands to her hips, feeling the hilts of her blades, "He missed." she stated as coldly as Kairel had ever heard her speak.

When the elves and Antelo had left her office, Morgan immediately broke into tears. She understood that Velvadine's capture, and perhaps even his death was necessary, but he had been her apprentice, the only apprentice she had ever taken and would ever take, and the closest thing to a child she had ever had. After a few minutes she regained her composure.

"May your goddess, Mielikki be with you Adrael Lightshadow, for you will need all the help you can summon against this foe."

The moment they stepped out of the tower Adrael felt the outsider's presence again. She looked to her right, where she could sense the being strongest, but only saw an empty lane. Empty, save for a familiar gray pup.

"Father," she said, looking to the left to her father, "I believe the pup to be the large one that has been trailing us since our departure from the wood."

Kairel looked to the scraggly gray mongrel, which cocked its head at the elf's examination, then back to Adrael, his eyebrow raised.

'Earlier I felt the aura of an outsider around whatever was following us, and again when we were walking to this tower, from this pup, who was following us, and when we stepped out of the tower I felt that same aura, coming from this pup again, as best I can tell."

Kairel's expression turned to one of recognition. Keadrea had told him of how a certain sensitivity to extra-planners had been bred into the drow over millennia of contact with such creatures. If this was the one who had been following them, and Kairel held no doubts about Adrael's judgment that this was indeed their pursuer, he wanted their unavoidable encounter to be on their terms. He began backing into a more defensible area as he drew out his long swords, but as he did a voice, strong and sure, sounded in his head, and by the look on her face, Adrael's too, causing him to stop.

_Kairel and Adrael Lightshadow, I am no enemy, though I assure you that such eyes are upon you. Let as leave these walls behind, that I may take my true form and explain things in full._

Kairel thought over the words carefully, "What _is _your true form?" he asked finally.

_I am known as a hound archon on this plane._

Kairel, beginning to understand nodded, though he was still skeptical, "Hound archons are known to be lawful creatures and are welcomed openly in any goodly society, why the guise?"

_I have become the champion of your goddess, Mielikki, on this plane and thusly I have taken on traits and features of a wolf, more than one ignorant peasant has mistaken me for a werewolf._

Kairel nodded again, a smile coming to his face._ The_ _Champion_ of the Lady of the forest had sought them out and apparently meant to travel with them, good news indeed to any true follower of Mielikki.

_Let us be on our way then._

"What is your name?" Adrael asked, as proud as her father at Mielikki's apparent favor.

_Lupin Mooncaller. _He stated as he came towards the elves. Adrael bent low and scooped him up to cradle him close to her, for he was rather cute, presently. Yes, he may indeed come to befriend these elves.

The three exited Waterdeep hastily and with a nod to the inquisitive look the guard whom had let them in gave them.

The road waited.

Lupins' feeling that less than friendly eyes were upon them was correct. Deep pink eyes speckled with red were upon them. The eyes of an assassin with considerable powers of the mind were upon them, and those were eyes that few would want upon them.

The lithe form of the psionicist-assassin flicked back her shoulder length raven black and blood red hair to reveal two small horns protruding from her forehead just below her hairline. She looked to her slightly clawed hands and to the demonic sibling blades sheathed at her slender hips and wondered if even her own considerable ability would be enough to beat the newest ally these elves had made.

With but a thought a portal opened to her mental call. Velvadine would not enjoy the news of a hound archon joining with these two, (and she knew him to be a hound archon because she had mentally intruded on their conversation) or would he? Or had he already foreseen this coming about? Of course he had, and he probably sung with joy at the thought, he did so love a challenge.

It hardly mattered, she thought as she stepped through her dimensional doorway to Velvadines fortress. With another thought the door closed behind her.


	4. Ch 3: Of Wolf and Elf

Chapter 3: Of Wolf and Elf

"A hound…er, wolf archon?" Velvadine asked his teifling lieutenant incredulously.

Singe nodded and the slender man burst into laughter. The news hadn't really come as a surprise to the wizard. He had foreseen the meeting in a vision years before, and wouldn't mind a bit of fun in the form of battle with the two elves and this… wolf archon.

He stopped laughing and became very serious as he looked into Singe's pink with red flecked eyes.

"Take two of the ogres and pay the companions a visit, if you kill them, all the better, if you lose, escape. I want the gauge the prowess of these three."

Singe nodded to him again and two ogres fell into line behind her at her mental bidding as she opened a portal. As the three blinked out of the room Velvadine's laughter followed them.

Several hours had passed as Lupin and the elves exchanged the information they had each gathered about Velvadine. The companions took an easterly route from Waterdeep and were heading to meet a druidess that Lupin had become acquainted with on his earlier travels. She had taken up residence in a grove with the broken hills of the area.

"She may have some information on where Velvadine's fortress lies, her animal friends rarely miss anything happening in the area, and at any rate she will be able to supply us for the road and perhaps give you two blades truly fit for followers of the Lady of the Forest." Lupin explained to the elves after a bit awkward silence between them. The elves had been very surprised at first when Lupin had showed them his true form, but they had quickly gotten over their shock. Lupin was, after all, their goddesses champion, and they were too joyous that he was beside them to be anything else.

Darkness began to fall and the companions set up camp by a stream. Lupin allowed Kairel and Adrael to inspect Equinox and all the two astonished elves could manage in response to the weapon was "Beautiful." A while later the elves went into their trance like sleep of reverie and Lupin looked on, having no real need of rest. He sighed as he thought of the friends these two could become to him. They were elves, and thusly capable of several centuries of companionship. Besides Seagrim, his only other companions had been human. The druid who raised him and had died and the druidess they were going to meet. She was in her sixth decade now, and may not be around much longer. Lupin smiled thinking of the adventures the two had shared forty years prior. Lupin leaned against a tree and decided to get some sleep himself rather than waiting for dawn and suffering through the nostalgia of lonely thought. He had just begun to doze off when a crackling energy started to build in the center of their camp. The elves, feeling the energy too, jumped to the ready and stood beside their wolfish companion.

A dark blue portal opened where the energy could be felt and an equally dark, lithe figure stood inside of it. Two piercing pink orbs with flecks of red stared out at them, announcing their doom. The figure leapt out and seemingly disappeared into thin air. An instant later out of the portal jumped two more, much larger forms. Ten feet of ogre muscle, each wielding dual clubs that were the same size as Kairel, and with many rusted spikes, came rushing at the three. Lupin drew Equinox up in front of him in both hands and looked to the elves.

"If I take one of them can you handle the other?"

The elves nodded and Lupin ran passed them to meet the ogres charge. The ogre on the right, two heads taller than Lupin, and obviously thinking itself at an advantage, brought its clubs to bear. Lupin brought Equinox across in a wide arcing horizontal slice, cutting both clubs cleanly in half. The ogre blinked, and then turned to run as Lupin went into a spin. The momentum of a full circuit behind it, Equinox dove into the ogre under his ribs and ripped out through the other side. Lupin didn't even wait to watch the ogre fall apart, there was someone else lurking around to worry about.

The elves dove out of the way on either side of the second ogre as it barreled at them. Kairel came up, long swords drawn and Adrael had already put five daggers in the ogres back and had another five in the air as she drew her long sword and dagger. The five flying daggers thudded home into the ogre's side as he skidded to a stop and turned. Clubs swung and thundered into the ground as the elves came in at the ogre and those same clubs were ducked under as the elves cut lines into the ogre's thick hide. Gashes covered the ogre in mere seconds and his own swings began coming less and less frequently. Adrael back flipped out of the way of a last ditch over head slam from the ogre and sent two more daggers soaring in as she went, each replacing one of the ogre's eyes. The massive monster shrieked and dropped both of its clubs to the ground to clutch at the blades buried to the hilt in his face. Kairel hopped into the air and dug both of his long swords into the beasts throat, then kicked off the things chest, causing it to go down in a heap and dislodging his blades at the same times. Adrael walked up as he landed and they both wiped their blades clean on the monster's tunic (which was rather nice for an ogre) as it died in a gurgle of its own blood. The elves looked at the gory mess that was the other ogre and were even gladder of Lupin's company.

She was close, he could smell and feel her. Tremendous energy was rolling from her as heat does from an ancient red wyrm, and the faint scent of brimstone followed her as it did a red as well. Lupin slowed as he came into a large copse of trees, for her energy was much more intense there. He blinked once and as his eyes opened she appeared in the center of the ring of trees.

She was beautiful, pearl skin and ruby lips, long, deep red hair and those eyes, orbs of pink with red splashes throughout. She had sharp elven features, for she was apparently elven, through she was also of demonic decent. A teifling. Two small horns protruded from her forehead under her hairline and her hands were clawed. As she smiled at him he noticed sharper–than-usual canines. The scent of brimstone continued to waft to him, but it was joined by rose now, a mixture of beauty and evil. Evil, he repeated to himself. She was evil. It was his duty to destroy such creatures.

The teifling drew out a nasty rapier and an even nastier dagger, both barbed and dripping with a greenish-black liquid, surely a heinous poison of some kind. The red and black intricacies of the apparent sibling blades caught Lupin's eye. They were magnificent weapons, just like Equinox.

He and she were the same person, Lupin realized, just for opposing causes.

There would be no pleasure in this kill for Lupin, though there rarely was.

He rushed forward and launched another arcing, horizontal slash as he reached her. As the blade was about to hit the teifling, time seemed to slow for Lupin. The maiden jumped into the air and landed lightly on Equinox as it slowly inched across its path. She walked atop the nearly frozen blade slowly, deliberately, right up to Lupin. At the sword's hilt she leaned forward and locked Lupin's gaze in hers.

"I can only enact this mind spell once a day, Lupin Mooncaller, pride yourself that I wasted it on you."

With that she kissed the archon on the lips and back flipped off Equinox as Lupin's speed returned to normal. The assassin rushed forward at him, her blades whirring. Lupin got Equinox up just in time to deflect an attack that would have had his entrails spilling to the ground and even managed to get back into an offensive stance. At once he realized that Equinox wasn't the weapon to use in this fight, for though he was much more agile and dexterous than any other in the realms with a weapon of such size, even his speed wasn't enough for this one. He smiled at the teifling and threw Equinox into the air, hoping to divert her attention as he drew the large scimitars that his old master used to favor from his belt. She was much too experienced for that rouse; though she did let him draw the blades…she hadn't had a good fight in a long time.

Equinox landed and dug into the earth a few feet to Lupin's left as he launched into a sweeping attack with both scimitars dipping in at the teifling and then, as she jumped over them, he stopped, allowing her to land again on his blades. They stood like this, staring into each other's eyes again for what seemed like an eternity. Then the assassin jumped from them into a quick somersault over Lupin, rapier racing hungrily for a shoulder, but Lupin had begun a spin as she had jumped, getting a scimitar up as he went to intercept the rapier. As she landed, Lupin was upon her, and her rapier was now out far to the right.

A scimitar came in at her chest as she tried to get either blade up, and she took a deep gash across her forearm in deflecting the killing blow, a gash that had her arm numbing every second. Lupin took a step back, thinking that perhaps she would surrender, wounded thusly. She stared at him, her visage one of defiance. She would never surrender.

She would rather die, proud to the end.

Kairel and Adrael came to the edge of the copse at that moment but decided to watch the exchange. Singe felt the elves at her back and knew she was badly outmatched now, and she also knew that Velvadine could heal her current wounds, but he couldn't bring her back from the dead. She smirked at the noble archon as he replaced his scimitars at his hips and sent a mental message to him.

_The name is Singe, farewell Lupin Mooncaller._

With that another dark blue portal opened between them and Singe darted into it.

Lupin cried, "Wait!" but she was already gone.

"What just happened?" Kairel asked as he and Adrael walked up to Lupin. All he could replay was "Singe."

The next two days passed uneventfully as Lupin continued to trudge on and the elves continued to wonder why the battle with the teifling had so rattled him.

After some time they came to a shallow and narrow valley which was a straight drop on the end opposite of them, but had a comfortable slope down on their side. Up against the "wall" that the other side made was an arcing row of tall, lush trees, which were so thickly packed and intermingling that they were hard to distinguish from each other, and formed a half-moon style wall that created a natural shelter. As they neared it Lupin announced, "We are here," though Adrael and Kairel had already figured as much.

Lupin threw his head back and let out a howl that seemed to clear the sky of clouds and the tops of the tree that had bent back to form the canopy roof curled forward until they stood straight again. Large wings beat and out of the grove rose a bronze dragon, twenty feet from nose to tip of tail with a nearly equal wing span. Greenish-blue scales glistening in the afternoon sun, and with an elderly druidess atop his back the dragon flew high into the air, turning and rolling, before whipping around to dive back down at the trio. As he reached them he fanned out his wings, causing him to slow. The dragon spun one last time and finally glided down behind them.

"Well met, old friends!" came Lupin's thunderous greeting as he looked upon Seagrim and Rhia, whom he hadn't seen in some weeks.

Rhia jumped down off of Seagrim's back and quickly engulfed Lupin in a strong embrace. Seagrim brought his head down just behind Rhia and over her right shoulder. Lupin smiled to his oldest friend and patted his head as he and Rhia's hug ended. A calm, appeased look came over Seagrim's face, as when you pet a dog that hasn't had such a pleasure in a long time.

Presently Rhia noticed Adrael and Kairel.

"Are these the two Mielikki spoke of?"

Lupin nodded. Rhia cast a warm smile over the two elves.

"Well met, Chosen of the Lady of the Forest." She greeted the two. Both elves' eyes widened at being called The Lady's Chosen.

"Surely Lupin has told of the word of Mielikki, that you two and Lupin must stop the great evil that is spreading throughout this land…" Rhia inquired of the elves apparent surprise.

"Indeed, we have," Kairel began, " but it was a bit overwhelming to hear it put so."

Rhia nodded and gave the elves another smile. She pushed past the companions to stand before the grove that would be named for her. She chanted a few quick words and cupped her hands, then she spread them wide and yelled "interior." The trees warped and twisted and after a moment a doorway, large enough for Lupin even, was present.

"You will stay here for some nights, we need to devise a plan, and think on what allies we have to call upon, this war will not be won alone." With that Rhia stepped through the new portal and Seagrim flew up and back in through the top entrance. As the elves and Lupin stepped through, the grove enclosed on itself again, and the valley sat motionless once more.

The inside of the grove was amazing. Rhia had used her extreme control over nature's power, which came only after a lifetime of worship and druidic study, to alter the place. It went back at least four hundred feet into the solid cliff face and there were actual rooms, made from intertwining trees. Everything was made _of _the land, not _from_ it. She shaped the trees to fit her designs rather than cutting and carving them. Now came Kairel's turn to be just as awed of a place as his daughter. This was a haven for any true follower of Mielikki. As the elves wandered the much-larger-than-it-should-have-been complex, the other three conversed on subjects of the past. Many a howling, rumbling, and quick pitched laugh came from the old friends, but as the elves finally found their way over, the dialogue had rapidly shifted to talk of a much darker tone; the future. Plans needed to be made concerning what to do with this Velvadine situation.

It was decided that the plans would be made in the morning after everyone had gotten a bit of rest. Rest they would all need very much, for no matter the details of the morrow's meeting, an army would need to be roused. The next dawn would be one of war.


End file.
